Valencia-based drug developer MannKind Corp. continued to bleed money during the second quarter of 2012 as it awaits FDA approval for its candidate diabetes cure, called Afreeza.

Still reeling from last year’s setbacks when the government ordered it to conduct more clinical trials of its revolutionary insulin inhaler, MannKind posted a net loss Tuesday of $36.6 million (23 cents) for the quarter ending June 30.

That’s actually an improvement over the year-ago quarter when the company posted losses of $44.5 million (37 cents), but the 2011 figure included a $7.7 million litigation settlement when it canceled orders for insulin that it no longer needed when the FDA issued its denial.

Tuesday’s figures beat analysts’ expectations; investors were looking to lose 25 cents per share.

Stock prices rose 5 cents, or 2.3 percent, on the news, but fell back to opening levels in after-hours trading.

Share prices have dipped since July 26 when Motley Fool published an article under the headline, “Is There Hope for MannKind?” The investor publication said FDA approval is “at least a year away” but said the inhaler could be a “game-changer for diabetes treatment.” There’s a future for the company as long as its billionaire namesake, Alfred Mann, is willing to keep it afloat, it said.

“It is unlikely that MannKind can continue to reach into its CEO’s pockets if Afrezza is not approved. However, Mann is heavily invested in this company and will undoubtedly do everything he can to get this product to market in the coming year,” Motley Fool said.

MannKind has no approved product and generates no revenue. Research and development expenses were $26.6 million for the second quarter of 2012 versus $30.3 million a year earlier.